Hindustan Ambassador

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Hindustan Ambassador (Avigo)

Manufacturer Hindustan Motors

Production 1958–

Body style(s) 4-door sedan

Platform FR

Hindustan Ambassador Classic on the streets of Kolkata

Ambassador VIP Vehicle, Delhi

Ambassador Mark III used by Late MG Ramachandran

The Hindustan Ambassador is a car manufactured by Hindustan Motors of India. It has

been in production since 1957 and is based on the Morris Oxford model first made by the
Morris Motor Company at Cowley, Oxford in the United Kingdom.

Despite its British origins, the Ambassador is considered the definitive Indian car. The
automobile made by Hindustan Motors at its Uttarpara plant[1] near Kolkata, West Bengal.
It was once the most popular car in India as it was perceived to be best suited to the harsh
Indian terrain. Its iconic status was helped by the fact that it was the preferred means of
conveyance of India's political leadership, including the Prime Minister of India, before
they moved on to other luxury cars and SUVs. In 2002, then-Indian PM Atal Bihari
Vajpayee started traveling in an armored BMW 7i vehicle for security purposes.
However, some prominent Indian politicians, such as Sonia Gandhi, continued with their
preference for Hindustan Ambassador.[2]

Contents
[hide]

• 1 Origins
• 2 Evolution
o 2.1 Ambassador Mark I to Mark IV
o 2.2 Ambassador 1800 ISZ
o 2.3 Avigo
• 3 Engines
• 4 Extended version
• 5 Customized version
• 6 UK imports
• 7 References

• 8 External links

[edit] Origins
When the Birlas wanted a new model to replace their already old Hindustan models based
on Morris Oxford Series II (Hinduatan Landmaster), they scouted for the then-new
Morris Oxford Series III. The car initially came with a side valve engine but was later
improved to an overhead valve engine. Also the car at that point was quite an innovation
with a fully enclosed monocoque chassis, which is why it is spacious inside.

Hindustan Motors Limited (HM), India's pioneering automobile manufacturing company

and Flagship Company of the C.K. Birla Group was established just before Indian
independence, in 1942 by Mr. B.M. Birla of the industrious Birla family, commencing
operations in a small assembly plant in Port Okha near Gujarat,

[edit] Evolution
The Amby, as it is affectionately called, has been in continuous production since its
inception, with very few changes to its frame.

In 1948, Hindustan Motors shifted its assembly plant from Port Okha in Gujarat to
Uttarpara in West Bengal's Hooghly district and strengthened its manufacturing capacity
in the automobile segment.

The 1954 Morris Oxford series II in India was licence-built at Uttarpara, (Hooghly dist.),
West Bengal, three years after its debut in England and labelled as the 1957 Hindustan
Landmaster. It had a rounded rear squab and a curvaceous sloping hood.
Engaged in the manufacture of the Ambassador, Contessa and utility vehicles like the
Trekker, Porter and Pushpak, the plant also has to its credit, many innovations and
improvements in the automobile industry in India. Hindustan Motors is the only
manufacturing facility in the world to manufacture parts for Bedford trucks currently.

[edit] Ambassador Mark I to Mark IV

In 1957 all the tooling of the British Morris Oxford Series III was transferred to India.
The car was renamed the Ambassador and series-production started in 1958.

Styling changes from the Morris Oxford series II (Landmaster) to Morris Oxford series
III (Ambassador) included deep headlamp cowls and small rear wing "tail fins" -- all the
rage in 1956. The dashboard and steering wheel were completely redesigned. The
Landmaster's flat-plane two spoke steering wheel gave way to a stylish dished steering
wheel with three spokes made-up of four wires per spoke, for the Ambassador.

Also a new, dimpled hood debuted. All subsequent models in this series were named
Ambassador, Mark II, Mark III, Mark IV, etc.,.

In the 1960s, it underwent a minor frontal facelift with a closely chequered grill and was
named as the Ambassador Mark II.

Like with other British designed Mark cars, while there was never really any Ambassador
Mark I, the arrival of the Mark II got people calling the older model, Mark I.

In 1975, another minor facelift to the same grille and a much bigger frontal facelift was
turned out as the Mark III, the most popular face of the Ambassador. The Mark IV was
the last of the Mark cars. Further on, it was renamed Ambassador Nova.

[edit] Ambassador 1800 ISZ

In an attempt to increase its appeal, another version was released. Dubbed the
Ambassador 1800 ISZ, this model featured a 1800cc Isuzu engine, and also had the
option of bucket seats, as opposed to the earlier bench seats. Also, the entire dashboard
was redesigned. Instrumentation panels were shifted from the centre of the dashboard to
the right, behind the steering wheel. Seat belts became mandatory.

[edit] Avigo

Its most radical revision, a part of a brand revitalization kicked off in the middle of 2003,
was the Avigo (a break from the Ambassador marque indicating a different marketing
strategy), launched in the summer of 2004. The revitalization consisted of the
Ambassador Classic of mid-2003, the Ambassador Grand of late-2003, and the
aforementioned Avigo, designed by Manvindra Singh. Car enthusiasts, however see this
as a desperate attempt to claw back the dwindling market share. Notable influences on
the new design include the new Mini, and even the Porsche 356. However, the most
overpowering influence on the front and bonnet has been that of the original Landmaster
series (also based on Morris Oxford). The rear of the car has been left untouched, and this
leads some to feel that the car is not really different from an Ambassador. Retro-car
enthusiasts would have preferred a rounded back (without the small fins), while as a
current car, the regular-look Ambassador is very good itself. The Avigo, however, has
much more classic-touch internals, like a centrally mounted console (like the Mark IV
models), beige colored seats and wood-grain interiors. It is also an anti-smoking car.

[edit] Engines
In the early 1990s, the old petrol engine was replaced in favour of an Isuzu 1.8 litre
engine and became the fastest production car in India, beating Fiats, and the Maruti
Udyog cars at that time. The engines currently available are a 75 bhp petrol engine and a
80 bhp (59.8 kW) Isuzu turbocharged and intercooled diesel engine.

[edit] Extended version

Many local customisers offer stretched versions, though they are not very popular.

[edit] Customized version

• see Ambierod

[edit] UK imports
The car was briefly imported to the United Kingdom in 1993 (as the Fullbore Mark 10) in
a disastrous attempt to bring the Ambassador "home." The cars were retrofitted with a
heater and seat belts in order to comply with European safety legislation, but only a tiny
number were ever sold, and the importer went into liquidation. Despite this failure, from
2002 the Ambassador has again been available new in the UK from an importer in Wales
called Merlin Garages, and has received favourable comment from the classic car media.